Timberwolves keep Trey Kaufman-Renn’s rights as the No. 59 pick returns to college at Kansas

The Minnesota Timberwolves’ last pick in the 2026 draft will spend the season in Lawrence, not the G League. Kansas announced Monday that former Purdue forward Trey Kaufman-Renn has enrolled and joined the Jayhawks for 2026-27, and Minnesota keeps his NBA rights while he plays another college season.

Kaufman-Renn, 24, went 59th overall in June with a pick the Wolves had acquired from San Antonio. He had used up his college eligibility after five years at Purdue, where he averaged 14.2 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 37 games as a senior last season and made the All-Big Ten first team in 2024-25. He played for Minnesota’s Summer League team in July. Then he went to court instead of signing a contract.

How a drafted player got back into college

After the NCAA moved toward an age-based eligibility model, Kaufman-Renn asked for one more college season and filed a court motion in August. He won a temporary restraining order in September, and a judge granted a preliminary injunction earlier this month. The NCAA is expected to appeal, so his eligibility could still change during the season.

Kansas got a late opening of its own. Kaufman-Renn takes the place of freshman Grant Mordini, who suffered a season-ending patellar tendon injury. Bill Self said Kaufman-Renn enrolled in classes and began practicing on Sunday, October 18.

“He reached the national championship game, the Elite 8 and the Sweet 16 at Purdue and has been extremely well-drilled and well-coached,” Self said in the school’s statement. “Even though it’s late in the process, because of his basketball IQ, we think his transition will be quicker than most put in the same circumstance.”

What the Wolves keep

Minnesota does not lose anything here. Kaufman-Renn was never signed, so he does not take one of the team’s 15 standard spots or three two-way spots, and his salary does not count against the cap. The Wolves now effectively have a domestic draft-and-stash: they hold his NBA rights while Kansas develops him, and they get a full season of high-level college games to judge him against older competition before deciding whether to offer a contract. Jon Krawczynski reported last month that Wolves officials supported his push to return to school, because the front office was not counting on him to help right away.

The timing fits Minnesota’s roster. The Wolves cut five players to reach the regular-season limit on Saturday and chose to keep a two-way spot open rather than fill it with a camp invitee. A 59th pick taking a two-way seat on a deep contender was never a sure thing. Leaving him unsigned keeps that slot available for players who shake loose on waivers this week, and it keeps Kaufman-Renn’s rights in Minnesota at no cost.

A new kind of stash

NBA teams have stashed second-round picks overseas for decades. Stashing one in college is new, and it exists only because of the court fight over NCAA eligibility. If the injunction holds, Kaufman-Renn plays a full Big 12 season and enters next summer as a 25-year-old forward the Wolves can sign, stash again or trade. If the NCAA wins on appeal, he could be back on the market mid-season, and Minnesota would still hold his rights.

Watch for the NCAA’s appeal, Kansas’ opener in early November, and whether Minnesota uses its open two-way spot after Wednesday’s waiver deadline.